ADES, TWO RELAYS QUALIFY FOR NATIONALS AT BU
COLLEGE WOMEN'S TRACK
& FIELD RESULTS
St. Valentine Invitational
At Boston, MA
Friday, February 10, 2006
BOSTON - The Tufts University women's indoor track and field team split the weekend to attend two separate invitationals. On Friday, the Jumbos ran at Boston University, giving strong performances in several different events.
Senior tri-captain Rebecca Ades (Shelburne, VT) burned through the 5,000 meters in 17 minutes, 36.32 seconds to easily reach an NCAA provisional qualifying time. This put her in the top 15 nationally, earned a fifth-place ranking in New England, and set the fourth fastest time in Tufts history.
The 4x400 meter relay and the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) also posted times within the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. The Jumbo 4x4 finished in 3:57.42, the fourth fastest in Tufts history and ninth in the nation. Freshman Aubrey Wasser (Richmond, VT) ran the first leg in 60.5 seconds, freshman Jackie Ferry (Studio City, CA) took the next leg with 58.7, sophomore Kaleigh Fitzpatrick (Lynnfield, MA) ran a 58.6 leg, and senior tri-captain Rachel Bloom (Sharon, MA) finished the relay with 59.3. Each of these women had run in previous open events before the relay, so their strong performance demonstrates exciting potential for the New England Championships.
The DMR is ranked first in New England and has an NCAA provisional qualifying mark after running fourth at BU with a 12:03.15 time. That currently ranks second in the nation and is the third-fastest DMR ever run for Tufts. The medley was comprised of sophomore Katy O'Brien (North Easton, MA), sophomore Joyce Uang (Medford, MA), junior Sarah Crispin (Auburn, ME), and sophomore Laura Walls (Clarksville, MD). O'Brien ran the 1200 leg in 3:36, cutting three seconds off her time from last year, while Uang ran the 400 leg in 59.7, cutting off nearly two seconds from the sprint to earn herself a new personal record. Crispin ran the 800 leg in 2:19, saving some energy for the open 800 she'd ran later, in which she hit the All-New England qualifier, running 2:19.45. Walls ran the 1600 in 5:06.9 – her best time this season.
Freshmen Evelyn Sharkey (Brunswick, ME) and Susan Allegretti (Crown Point, IN) had great races in the 1000 meters, and each setting personal records with times of 3:03.90 and 3:05.81, respectively. Sharkey hit the Division I New England qualifier. Wasser, Bloom, and sophomore Erica Steinitz (Mercer Island, WA) ran season-best times in the 200, and junior Kate Makai (Brookfield, CT) set a personal record in the 500 meters with a1:21.62.
Tufts hosts the New England Division III Championships on Saturday at the Gantcher Center.
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